


Bus Rides & Sleepy Misses

by reddoll123



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, OT12 (EXO), Romance, Slice of Life, Taemin from SHINee and a few more, like Soo-jung Amber and Victoria from f(x), with a few cameos from a few other k-pop groups
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-22 13:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30039714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddoll123/pseuds/reddoll123
Summary: Whether it's catching a bus, or catching some Z's, sometimes things don't always turn out as planned for these twelve men. But despite the ups and the downs, their jokes and their silly arguments, they'd all likely agree on this one thing. Sometimes people's paths cross, and sometimes...they get missed.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Oh Sehun, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han
Kudos: 2





	1. Riding on the Bus

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! So, I first wrote and posted this fic on AFF back in 2016 and I'm finally gonna be cross-posting it (and some of my other fics) on here in the next coming weeks/months depending! 
> 
> This fic's my first multi-chapter fic and one that I hold really dear to me. I dunno, I think it's cause a lot of the things that happen in it are either personally or vaguely things that me or my friends had to deal with/still deal with lol. Like unrequited crushes/love, drama, relationships, falling out with friends, dumb accidents and injuries, stupid decisions, sadness, happiness and a whole lot of laughter in between hehe. Oh and lastly, EXO are in their early to mid twenties in this~!
> 
> Anyways, I'll try to post the already completed chapters once a week, either one at a time or a few at a time! Hope you all like this (and if you already read this on AFF and are reading it again, thank you!)~

_Please let there be a free seat..._

Jongin sighs to himself as he boards the same bus that he does almost everyday, on his way to work. He taps his bus card onto the fare machine and turns to the sight of full seats all around him. They're all occupied by young people, old people, a woman in a wheelchair, a blind man with a cane...Teenagers are chatting at the back, while a few adults are staring out the windows, lost in their many thoughts and worries, wanting to keep the ride lasting just a little bit longer.

He pouts and walks towards the back of the bus, maneuvering his way around the people standing near the bus railings and bringing his dancing bag closer to himself while doing so. Once he climbs the small steps leading to the seats at the back, he sighs and walks over to an open railing--reaching out his hand for support then steadying his feet into a more comfortable stance as the bus chugs along again. It's usually very awkward standing so close in proximity to someone else, but fortunately the person sitting in front of him is too busy texting on their phone to look at him.

He really hopes that at least one of the teens around him will have their stop come up soon, 'cause he seriously wants to sit down. He can feel the jolting rumble of the engine vibrating through the soles of his shoes, and pouts even more at the _prime_ nap opportunity that he could've had--if only there was an empty seat. While still pouting, he glances down at the young teen sitting in front of him and maintains eye contact with them when they look up at him.

"Uh..." said teen starts to say, taken aback by Jongin's meek expression. "Are you feeling alright there, dude?

Jongin slightly shakes his head _No_ and the teen kindly offers their seat to him. "R-really?" Jongin replies in shock. "Oh man, thanks."

Then, they quickly switch spots as he sits down and they stand up. The teen looks down at him before texting someone on their phone. "No problem, man. You looked like you were gonna cry if you stood up any longer anyways."

Jongin can only scrunch up his face at that.

\------

Waiting at a bus stop a good three minutes away is Kyungsoo, on his way to college. He's dressed in all black; with a poncho on, his usual round black glasses perched on his nose, and a glare on his face.

Plentiful clouds loom overhead in the grey sky and he suddenly feels a sense of dread on what should've been just another sunny November day. Maybe his sense of dread is there because of group play-presentations being held today in his drama class. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that he's a main character in his group's play.

He, his best friend/group-mate Baekhyun, and their other group-mates Jongdae and Soo-jung have spent the past few months coming up with this play. With their teacher Ms. Jung following each group's progress, the four of them have come up with a who-dunnit thriller that includes a typical plot-twist at the end.

Kyungsoo plays the main villain--a cold, manipulative, obsessive, murderous nymphomaniac. It's eighty percent different from his actual personality and he thinks that's the great part of acting. He gets to put on a mask, gets to become someone else for a moment and just let himself feel _any_ emotion. Soo-jung, plays his partner-in-crime who lures innocent bystander Jongdae into an alley one night and that starts the catalyst for a roller-coaster of a ride (in Jongdae's words). In Kyungsoo's opinion, the whole thing's kinda cliché, kinda too dramatic at some parts, and hearing Baekhyun read over his narrator lines over and over again is so embedded in his subconscious that he's started having _dreams_ of Baekhyun narrating his dream lives.

But honestly, Kyungsoo's not nervous about forgetting lines or their classmates thinking that their play is stupid. No, he's just nervous about having to perform in front of a crowd. All of those eyes locked on him...

He shudders.

Then, the sound of the bus arriving at his stop makes him blink rapidly as his mind returns to the present. He looks up and sees the bus driver looking questioningly down at him, as if to say, _Are you coming on or not?_

With an anxious smile, he boards the bus and reaches to clutch his black backpack closer. Then, he internally face-palms as he only feels his poncho and remembers that it's _over_ his backpack. As he pays his fare with his bus card, he glances at the bus driver and squints his eyes in confusion. The driver kind of looks like his friend Kris but...different. He awkwardly walks towards the back of the bus after standing there a bit too long, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

He shouldn't worry, he knows, but he can feel the glances from some of his fellow patrons and it's making him more aware of just how many people are on this bus. There are no spots available at the back until a teen gets up, ready to get off at the next stop. And it just so happens that the empty spot is one right next to someone who's been on his mind on and off for two weeks now. Kyungsoo almost chokes on his own spit when he sees him.

_Jongin,_ Kyungsoo thinks, his stomach suddenly feeling full of not just simple butterflies, but _bumblebees_.

He quickly sits down in the empty seat, purposefully averting his eyes away from a sleeping Jongin. Leaning forward, he twists and shimmies a bit to try and take his backpack off without taking off his poncho. Once he gets it off, he places it on his lap and leans back, eventually shifting a bit to get rid of the weight of his college books atop his crotch. With a quick turn of his head (to see the scenery out the window, of course), he spots Jongin's plump lips opening slightly--and _Nope, nope--gonna just look out this window over here...!_

He's suddenly glad he put his backpack on his lap.

And with what seems to be the universe continuing to have a good laugh at him, Jongin suddenly lets out a soft groan in his sleep and turns his body slightly towards him. Kyungsoo's eyes bug out, and he literally jumps in his seat--a small squeak escaping his mouth. A girl in her late teens who's sitting parallel to them glances at him with furrowed brows and he feels his own cheeks heat up and quickly leans back into his seat again before fiddling with the bottom of his poncho and turning once again to the window to fixedly stare at nothing.

His eyes then begin to blur as he keeps his focus on one unmoving point and he finds himself thinking back to two weeks ago, when he first met Jongin at a local mall.


	2. Mall Acquaintance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's all a flashback to when Kaisoo first met but no worries, it's the only chapter that will be a full flashback lol.

***

It was on a Saturday; he remembers, because the weather was perfect, no homework was given by any of his teachers, and his best friend Minseok had a family reunion to go to up north. So, with time to spare, and no desire to call anyone else, Kyungsoo decided to just watch some anime on his laptop for the rest of the day (or until he thought of something else to do). He made it through half a season of a tennis anime when he heard his cell phone ring.

A calming piano melody started playing, which could only mean that the call was from Baekhyun. (Kyungsoo originally made the ringtone an erratic keytar jam, but that got old quick. Especially when Baekhyun found out what the ringtone assigned to his number was and would call at the most random times just to mess with him.) Closing his eyes, he let himself get swept away by the melody for a moment before reaching for the answer call button a mere second before it would've cut to his voicemail.

Then, he put his phone to his left ear and greeted Baekhyun with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. "...You rang?"

"Well, hi to you too, Soo," Baekhyun replied wryly. "Maybe I shouldn't give you this gift I got you after all..."

"...Why would you get me a gift?"

"Because I'm a good friend? Gosh Soo, you wound me."

Kyungsoo snorted in response, and Baekhyun chuckled lightly before asking if Kyungsoo could pick him up at the mall, seeing as how he had too many shopping bags to go anywhere with them.

"Call a cab then," Kyungsoo deadpanned.

He then regretted saying that when he heard Baekhyun whine, "But _Kyungie_ ~"

Kyungsoo's the only one out of his college-going group of friends who has a driver's license. He usually doesn't mind being asked to drive someone somewhere, but he can make an exception for Baekhyun. So, he told Baekhyun, _No_.

" _Please_?" Baekhyun asked again. And when Kyungsoo didn't respond he added a, " _Pretty_ please?"

Looking at his mirror across his bedroom, Kyungsoo could see his unkempt self reflecting back to him and let out a deep sigh. Then, while pushing up his glasses that were sliding down his nose with a finger, he grumbled, " _Fine_...but I expect compensation for this service."

"I dunno if I'd wanna blow you, man," Baekhyun laughed, voice seeming far away as the sounds of people chatting resounded in the background.

Kyungsoo pointedly ignored that comment and started to put on some jeans, when he paused and asked him which mall he's at.

"The one I always go too--duh."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at that but still ended up cleaning himself up a bit so he could pick Baekhyun up. He'd just put on some jeans over his boxer-briefs, washed his face and just as he was grabbing his toothbrush, he heard muffled speaking coming from his phone. So, he let out a curious hum so that Baekhyun could repeat himself.

"I said I'm at the food court..." Baekhyun replied. "So if you could meet me here?...And take some of the bags off my hands...I'd appreciate it, _Soo-soo_ ~"

Kyungsoo promptly glared into the mirror while still brushing his teeth. "Ya know what, you're gonna be paying for the gas I'mma have to use to pick you up, asshole." He then rinsed out the toothpaste residue from his mouth and muttered, "Asking me to be some kind of fuckin' pack-mule..."

"Haha, love you too, Soo."

"I'm serious," Kyungsoo responded.

"I am too, Soo~"

Kyungsoo drily replied, _Yeah, yeah_ then muttered a quick _See you there_ and ended the call with a playful roll of his eyes.

\---

As soon as he was fully dressed and ready to go, he left his home, locked the front door and walked to his car--a small, black convertible. It only took a few minutes to get to the mall and once he was parked in a parking garage nearby, he locked his car doors with its remote lock and leisurely walked towards the nearest mall entrance. He guessed that there'd probably be a ton of people just near the entrance itself and braced himself for the onslaught of people coming and going.

And as he pushed through the entrance doors, he found that his suspicions were right--there was way too many damn people there. He ended up having to take deep breaths as he walked and tried not to freak out as more and more people passed by him--an abundance of stimuli leading to instant anxiety. _Baekhyun said he'd be at the food court...that's only...two floors away..._

He resolved to just charge his way through the crowds of people, as calm and collected as he could muster. Despite his best efforts though, he ended up looking like a lost penguin. (Sometimes when he walked, he kind of looked like he was waddling. Thus, the unwanted image stuck to him.)

He reached the escalator and rode up the two floors, practically jumping off at the top, and silently thanked the architects of the mall for putting the food court directly in front of the escalators. Scanning through the crowd of passing people, he then quickly spotted Baekhyun, who was sitting on a white bench near the mall's fountain. Baekhyun had a few store bags perched next to himself, and was tapping his index finger rapidly on his phone screen--probably playing a game on it.

Numerous people walked around and passed Kyungsoo; chatting on phones, talking to each other or just walking to who knows where, and his sense to turn back around and sprint out of the mall just grew more and more.

So, he quickly reached into his pocket to grab his phone and brought it closer to his chest as he unlocked the screen. But, just as he was about to text Baekhyun to meet him at the escalators instead, a young teen girl had dashed past him and ended up knocking his phone loose from his hands. With wide eyes, he fumbled for it as it fell to the floor with a clank and reflexively crouched down to retrieve it, but was startled to see pairs of feet (unintentionally) kicking it towards a corner between a wall and the escalators.

Muttering curse words at the girl long gone and the careless people around him, he followed where the phone laid and grabbed for it. But just when he was about to stand up again, he noticed a pair of brown sandals suddenly appear in his point of view.

_Who the...?_ he thought as his eyes continued to scan upwards--taking in the sight of a deeply tanned guy wearing dark blue jeans, and a casual, striped pink T-shirt.

Kyungsoo felt his breath hitch as his eyes reached the stranger's face.

_Holy shit...he's hot_ , Kyungsoo thought as he fully stood up. He hoped he wasn't gaping but he probably was.

He quickly tucked his phone (screen intact) into one of his pockets--eyeing the handsome stranger curiously as he did. He was amazed to find that he had to look up to make eye contact with the guy. Normally he would've frowned to himself, mentally complaining about somehow attracting tall-ass people, but in that moment his mind just went blank. The stranger, only about half a head taller than him, curiously looked at Kyungsoo as well, causing Kyungsoo's ears to heat up.

"Uhm..." Kyungsoo finally spoke, adjusting his glasses. "Anything that uh, I can help you with?"

The stranger opened their mouth, about to say something, when a hand suddenly appeared on their right shoulder and they jumped in alarm--shoulders tensed. They whipped around to see whose hand it was before recognition and annoyance crossed their face.

" _Sehun_ ," the stranger whined, at an even taller young man, who was now standing beside them chuckling silently.

" _Yes_?" The one named Sehun replied back once he stopped laughing, looking at Kyungsoo with bemusement. The clear retainer that he had in his mouth might be what caused him to lisp, making the 's' sound more like a 'th'.

The cute stranger sighed and turned back towards Kyungsoo, running a hand through his own hair. "Uh, so...hi."

"Hi _..._ " Kyungsoo mumbled, his stomach doing somersaults. (He would mentally kick himself for days afterwards.)

"So uh, I saw you dropped your phone..." Sehun started to roll his eyes. The cutie seemed to sense this somehow because he glared at him before continuing. "So, I came over to see if everything's okay."

"Pssh, he wanted it to be some cheesy m--"

Before Sehun could even finish his sentence though, the cutie shot a hand to Sehun's mouth. Sehun looked partly annoyed yet partly amused at that. And then he licked the cutie's hand. At least, that's what Kyungsoo inferred by the way the cutie recoiled in disgust.

"Eugh, what was that for?!" The cutie exclaimed, glaring at Sehun.

Sehun stuck his tongue out at the cutie and not even two seconds later--they started play-hitting each other. Kyungsoo just looked on in amazement whilst simultaneously trying to calm himself down internally. _Be confident, be cool--you got this._

"A cheesy what by the way?" he said, bringing their attention back to him. Baekhyun was long gone from his mind and he actually sounded like his normal self despite the increase in stomach bees.

They stopped play-fighting and turned back towards him, Sehun uttering, _Mov..._ before the cutie cut him off again with a _Nothing!_

Kyungsoo frowned and then it seemed contagious because then the cutie frowned too. They ended up staring each other down, Kyungsoo wanting to know what Sehun meant, and the cutie refusing to tell.

"Mov...moov..." he mulled the half-word over to himself. Then his eyes suddenly widened, startling the two in front of him. He's been told before that he looked liked an owl when his eyes widen enough. "M-movie? T-that's all I can think of..."

Before either could reply though, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. So, he fished his phone out and checked to see who had texted him.

**Baekhyunnie:** Are you still picking me up, Soo-Soo?

Kyungsoo grimaced at his phone, then looked up to see the cutie looking at him sheepishly. "Um, so...I gotta go," Kyungsoo softly spoke. He pocketed his phone once again and looked back at the cutie. "It was...interesting meeting you...um?"

"Jongin."

"Huh?"

"M-my name's Jongin," the cutie named Jongin mumbled.

"Oh. And uh nice meeting you, um, Sehun, is it?"

Sehun smiled and replied, "Yeah."

Kyungsoo glanced between the two of them. "My name's Kyungsoo--uh hopefully we can meet again?" Then, he adjusted his glasses and summoned all of his inner confidence before smiling gently at Jongin and saying, "Maybe then you can tell me if I was right. A-about the movie thing, ya know?"

Jongin's eyes widened and he blushed while Sehun put a hand on Jongin's head to make him nod. Kyungsoo giggled (he would double-kick himself for days afterwards) and waved at them before briskly walking off towards where Baekhyun was, weaving between the tables and people around him with widening eyes.

\-----

What Kyungsoo didn't know was that the two of them had watched as he sped off and Sehun had said, "Yo, I think he likes you, Jongin." He turned to Jongin expecting to see his best friend excited but was surprised to see that Jongin was just glaring at him. "W-what?" He looked left and right. "What'd I do?"

Jongin pouted and whined, "He thinks we're a couple!"

"What?" Sehun replied in amazement. "No, he doesn't."

Jongin exclaimed in exasperation, "Yes he does!" A pause. "Wait...you think he likes me?" He turned from Sehun to look for Kyungsoo before spotting him talking to a guy sitting down around shopping bags. He then softly muttered, "No, he doesn't."

Sehun looked at Jongin in disbelief, "Are you _dense_ , Jongin?"

Jongin turned to Sehun again, looking down, "He's probably not even into guys..."

Sehun could only scoff in return, conjuring all of his willpower to not shake Jongin silly. _He thinks you're cute--you dumb-fuck!_

He put a hand on Jongin's shoulder. "Not even Taozi and I look at each other the way you two just looked at each other. At least, not when we first fucking _met_. And you two don't even _know_ each other yet," Sehun sighed. "Not into guys--my ass."

\-------

"Hey, Soo!" Baekhyun chirped, as he saw Kyungsoo walking towards him. His bright expression turned into befuddlement though when he noticed that Kyungsoo was practically hyper-ventilating. "Ha, where's the cute guy?" he teased.

Kyungsoo's eyes widened, "Did you see us?"

"Us?" Baekhyun eyebrows raised at that. "So there _is_ a cute guy?"

Kyungsoo's face flushed and he stuttered, "N-no..."

Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows a bit at that. "You're lyin'."

"...I'll tell ya about him later, okay? Come on."

Baekhyun whined in response but complied before he pocketed his phone and got up from the bench that he was sitting on. Then with a cheeky smile, he grabbed his bags and handed Kyungsoo two to hold before he took a glance at the escalators. And that's when he spotted two of the _finest_ guys he's ever seen.

The one on the left was tall, deeply tanned, with a lean body, broad shoulders, the deepest cut jawline, and the poutiest plump lips. And if he could see the other's lips from such a distance, they probably would look _unreal_ up close--holy shit. And to that guy's right was an even taller guy who had the broadest shoulders, a slight tan, the definition of a bubble butt and the most anime-come-to-life look that he'd ever seen in his whole life. And the two of them were bickering about something.

_What the fuck kinda warped reality?_ Baekhyun thought.

_\------_

Kyungsoo, who had also turned to start walking when Baekhyun did, froze when he saw Jongin and Sehun again, still at the same spot that he left them at. They were arguing about something, but it seemed like the Sehun guy was winning because Jongin started to sigh, pouting his lips. _His nice, nice lips..._

" _Kyungsoo~"_

Kyungsoo jumped slightly, startled by the sudden whisper in his right ear. He whipped around to instinctively slap Baekhyun's face but the other dodged before he could and then doubled over with laughter.

Kyungsoo crossed his arms and glared at him. "Fuck--don't just whisper in someone's ear like that!"

"Ha...were you expectin' plump lips over there?" Baekhyun said, gesturing with a thumb over to where Jongin and Sehun were.

Kyungsoo could only sputter, "Ugh, shut up, Baek."

"Haha, I'll take that as a yes."

After Baekhyun's teasing, Kyungsoo glared even more at the former and they soon set off towards the escalators after making sure they had everything. As they walked past a few tables, they saw Sehun and Jongin suddenly turn and walk off towards the array of stores perpendicular to them.

With a slight pout of his own, Kyungsoo tightened his grips on the bags he was holding and continued alongside Baekhyun towards the elevator and then towards his car in the parking garage. Once they made it (after weaving through _too_ many people), Kyungsoo released the bags he was holding onto the backseat of his car and Baekhyun did the same with his bags. They both then got into their respective seats; Kyungsoo in the driver's side and Baekhyun in the passenger's side.

While buckling their seatbelts, Baekhyun changed the current topic from his admiration of Sehun's "fine anime-ass" towards his daily fawning over his best friend Chanyeol's doings. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and turned his key in the ignition. It's always been _Chanyeol this_ and _Chanyeol that_ with him.

But Chanyeol's too clingy for Kyungsoo's liking and Baekhyun is so obviously in love with the guy...it hurts _him_ to see Baekhyun be a part of such a one-sided love.


	3. Not Hungover

Kyungsoo suddenly jolts awake, his mind automatically panicking over whether he missed his bus-stop or not. Looking out at the window, he sighs in relief after seeing a huge blue and white house near the intersection. (That house signals to him that he only has two more stops to go, since he's driven past it almost everyday on his way to school.)

The rain is pouring down hard now and he just watches the familiar scenery go by as the bus passes another stop before he lifts a hand to pull on the line. As he's about to pull on the line to signal his stop though, someone else on the bus pulls the line first. He then turns and notices Jongin, who's still sleeping next to him, and then remembers that they've been sitting next to each other, asleep, for most of this bus ride.

The bus stops to let people off again and he gathers his backpack into his hands and spares one more glance at Jongin before getting up and speed-walking through the back-doors of the bus--hoping that they don't close on him and make him have to get off at the next stop. He's not about to walk for five minutes just to get back to where his school is.

Once he's stepped off of the bus and onto the wet pavement, he quickly flips the hood of his poncho to cover his head with one hand while holding his backpack with his other hand. Then he turns, and looks at the back of Jongin's head as the bus drives off before he trudges towards his college's entrance.

\-------

His phone vibrating in his pants pocket is what finally gets Jongin to wake up. His eyes flicker open, and he hastily reaches into his pocket for said phone and unlocks the screen to turn off his alarm before he checks to see if he got any new texts as well. Since he's on his way to work, and his work is a good distance away from where he lives, Jongin set an alarm according to the usual time it takes for his bus to reach his stop.

Looking at the time, Jongin notices he's right on schedule and so puts his phone back into his pocket. Then, he looks out of the window behind himself and marvels once again at the big art college that spans too many side-walk squares to count. He doesn't notice the man in the poncho who's practically stomping with anger at life nor does he notice said man's best friend who spots the angry man and puts an arm around his shoulder. Satisfied with his daily viewing of the school, Jongin turns back around and settles on watching the usual scenery pass by on the other side of the bus until his stop arrives.

Three long and dull stops later, he finally gets off the bus and sees that the rain is pouring down harder now. So, he quickly flips up the hood from his jacket onto his head and sprints towards work (a dance studio situated at a strip mall). Once he gets inside, he quickly steps out of his wet shoes and lugs his dancing bag towards the changing room to change into his dancing clothes and back-up shoes--passing by his co-worker and best friend, Yixing, who simply gives him a weak smile while at their shared desk area.

Once he's changed into some clean, dry clothes, he goes back out towards the main room (where the mirrors and stretching rails are) and walks over to Yixing, whose head is now resting on their desk.

"Hungover?" Jongin asks, smirking as he sits down in the chair next to him. Yixing groans and Jongin chuckles and rubs Yixing's upper back. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself, man?"

Yixing mumbles something and Jongin leans in closer, not having heard a word. "Huh?"

His head then jerks back in surprise when Yixing suddenly lifts his head to look up at him with scrunched up eyes. "I'm not hungover."

"W-what?" Jongin replies.

"I..." Yixing cuts himself off and lifts his left hand to wipe tears that are now falling down his face.

And Jongin just stares in alarm as he watches his best friend cry. And not even hungover?

Because the thing is, no matter how sad or depressed Yixing gets, he never really likes to show that emotion unless he's drunk or hungover. (And it just so happens that he goes out to drink sometimes, not to the point of addiction, but for a once in a while kind of thing.)

Many thoughts run through Jongin's mind, but the one that sticks out the most is the thought to comfort Yixing. So with a sympathetic pout, he leans in to wrap his arms around Yixing and gently rubs the other's neck while doing so. Yixing openly sobs at that with his head now resting on Jongin's right shoulder.

"W-why don't more people understand...?" Yixing murmurs. Jongin glances at his best friend's head, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, but lets out a small hum to show that he's listening. "I'm not always happy-go-lucky...I'm not always nice--I-I get pissed off just like anyone else..."

_Who thinks you're always nice?...You're like the most silently snarky person I know,_ Jongin thinks _._

But he doesn't dare say that out loud right now as Yixing continues sobbing and mumbles, "Fuck, I hate it."

"...There, there," Jongin finally says, his hand now rubbing up and down Yixing's back. "Get it _all_ out..."

It's not for another minute until Yixing pulls away from the hug and Jongin grimaces and looks down, now aware of the tears on his shoulder. Then, he quickly looks back up at Yixing and shoots out a hand as if to say, _Don't misunderstand!_

Yixing, who's no longer crying, starts to chuckle softly at that and apologizes. He then sniffles and smiles, his dimple slightly showing on his right cheek as he says, _Thanks_.

Jongin gives a wobbly half-smile in return and replies, "Pfft, for what?"

"For just listening."

Yixing then gets up to go to the restroom to wipe his face, and Jongin looks at his retreating figure before putting an index finger to his lips and pressing upwards. _What was all that about?_

\--------

An hour passes by, and the dance studio's boss (and their best friend), Taemin, saunters in through the front door with a carton of banana milk in one hand and a slightly damp umbrella in the other. Jongin and Yixing are still over at their mutual desk, leaned towards each other in deep conversation, and don't even lift their heads at his entrance.

"Hey, losers...what'd I miss?" he asks them, placing his umbrella on the floor near the door.

When neither respond, Taemin frowns and walks towards them--his eyebrows lifting in curiosity when he hears a gasp from Jongin and an _I know, right?_ from Yixing. Taemin then contemplates on how to scare the two of them to get them to notice him when they both turn to him and simultaneously deadpan, _Hey, Taemin_.

Taemin recoils in shock and makes a gurgling noise at the two before throwing away his milk carton in the trash can behind their desk and sulking off towards the changing rooms to freshen up. Because unlike his best friends, he comes in to work prepared (already dressed for work as soon as he comes through the front door). Once he's done making sure that he looks alright, he walks back out to the sight of Yixing whispering something into Jongin's ear and Jongin then lets out a scandalous _What?!_

"Oh my shit, you two--what the fuck did I _miss_?!" he asks, his voice rising in pitch slightly towards the end. Their heads swivel towards him, completely in sync, and he's one second away from insulting their entire existences. "Stop doing that shit-- _fuck_ I thought Jongin and I were supposed to be like stereotypical twins."

They both scrunch up their faces at that and look at each other before looking back at him and saying, _Huh?_ in unison. Taemin then stares blankly at them before abruptly turning and going towards his own desk in the back office.

Yixing begins to silently chuckle while Jongin laughs and calls out, _Wait, Tae--we were just messing with you!_ as Taemin makes it one foot into his office.

Taemin just glares at them and walks into his room with the door closing behind him. And Yixing and Jongin glance at each other, amazed that Taemin would actually seem to take their teasing to heart, before getting up to walk over to Taemin's office. Before they make it though, Taemin bursts open his door with a swivel chair and laughs at their surprised faces before asking them, no, practically _demanding_ them to tell him what the hell he's missed.


	4. After Work

Jongin knows that people worry--some more than others. Sometimes the person who seems to have their life completely together is the one who's suffering the most. Jongin always feels so powerless when he sees someone suffering, especially when he can't be physically with said person to say, give them a hug. 

Currently, he's walking aimlessly around his room, clutching onto his phone while Yixing talks, and finds himself struggling to come up with helpful words to say for once.

Earlier when the two were at work, Jongin never pried after Yixing cried on his shoulder--knowing that Yixing likes to talk about his problems on his own time. So, they carried on with their day, joking around and telling light-hearted stories to each other and to Taemin. Now, Yixing's expelling his worries and stresses about life in general to Jongin, who gives hums and nods to himself here and there to show that he's listening.

"...Like I feel so lonely sometimes, man," Yixing murmurs.

Jongin plops down onto his bed at that and responds with, "Yeah, I get ya...like, it's like there's a void that can't be completely filled?" He stares up at his ceiling, remembering a bit of his own past before turning onto his side. "But then, I think we can meet certain people that make that void feel almost non-existent..." He thinks about their other friends and pauses before asking, "Uh, do Taeminnie, Sehunnie, and I ever make you feel lonely?"

There's a pause on the phone and Jongin worries that maybe he hasn't been enough of a comfort for Yixing, and then scrunches his eyebrows when he hears the other man mumble something.

"...Hello?" Jongin asks, as he hears only silence afterwards.

"Hello? Jongin?" he hears Yixing say back to him.

They both repeat each other's names another time to make sure that the phone connection is alright and Yixing asks for him to repeat what he just said because his phone made a weird beeping sound during his question. Jongin sighs and then repeats what he asked before and Yixing makes a humming sound as he contemplates the question. The longer it takes for him to answer though, the more irrationally worried Jongin gets, until finally Yixing gives a response.

"No. With you three...I feel...almost completely full, if that makes sense?...I love you guys, man."

Tears brim at the sides of Jongin's eyes at that and he sniffles and playfully scolds Yixing, telling him not to worry him like that.

"Why would you be worried?" Yixing asks, quietly. "I thought you'd know this by now."

"I do--it's just..." Jongin replies, running a hand through his hair. "...You took like a minute to even answer."

"Ha, it was not a minute."

"It so was!"

Yixing chuckles at that and replies, "I was just trying to find the right words."

Jongin harrumphs. "Well...I'm glad though that we can make you feel full, Yixing. I--"

He then pauses when he hears Yixing guffawing on the other end, and asks him what's so funny. Then, his mouth drops open in disbelief when Yixing says that it's because of him. Yixing continues to laugh and mocks what Jongin just said a few seconds ago.

Jongin crinkles his nose and says, " _Hey_ , you're the one who said that you felt 'full' first--not me."

"I know, but--" Yixing says, his laughter slowly quieting down. "--you make it sound so _corny_."

Jongin then lets out a whining noise from the back of his throat and that gets Yixing laughing all over again. Jongin soon finds himself smiling and then laughing right along with his best friend--happy that he could bring up the other's somber mood somehow, if even for this moment. Soon though, their laughter dies down and Jongin glances at a football/soccer poster on his wall, trying to think of a new topic to talk about now since they've been on the phone for almost two hours now.

Yixing breaks the silence for him though by talking about how adorable Minseok is, a man who their mutual friend, Luhan, is completely in love with. Jongin sighs and is about to bluntly remind Yixing, once again, the many reasons why that crush would go nowhere when he hears his mom call his name from the kitchen.

"Hey, be back in like two minutes," Jongin says to Yixing, before setting his phone down on a shelf of his bookcase and sprinting to the kitchen. "Yes, mom?" he says, once he gets there. The way she called for him made it sound like it was something serious.

"...Does this look okay to you?" his mom questions, as she adjusts a painting on the wall that connects to the living room.

It's a painting that Jongin's never seen before, one depicting a café during the nighttime. As he moves closer to get a better look, his lips part in awe at the sheer amount of details and soft yet confident brush strokes that encompass the whole picture.

"Wow, where'd you get this from?" Jongin asks, his mom having moved a bit to let him stand in front of the picture.

She smiles at him before saying, "One of my co-workers gave it to me today. I think she said she got it from Italy."

"Wow, Italy?" Jongin remarks. "And she got it for you? Man, maybe we should switch jobs, mom."

She lets out an amused chuckle and then turns back to the painting and asks, "So it looks fine, right?"

Jongin lets out an _Mhm_ and so with a smile, she then asks him if he can help her cook some food for dinner in a few minutes. Jongin takes a good second to say _Okay_ , and then goes back to his room to tell Yixing that he's gotta go.

Once he picks it back up and says _Hello?,_ Yixing responds right back and Jongin apologizes for the wait before telling him that he's gonna go help his mom cook some food. Yixing laughs at that and drawls out an _Alright_ (getting Jongin to tell him to shut up in a playful manner). Then, they wish each other their _Goodbyes_ and say _their Love you_ 's before hanging up.

Jongin's always had this habit of saying _Love you_ to any friend when saying goodbye on the phone. No matter the gender (or non-gender of the person), he never fails to inform his friends that he loves them. Though he knows that they must know by his actions, for some reason he just feels better saying it. (And though his friends were surprised at first when he said goodbye with a _Love you_ , they quickly accepted it as one of Jongin's quirks, and even repeat it back to him during goodbyes too.)

As he goes to the bathroom to wash his hands, his mind wanders to when he first saw Kyungsoo at that mall. Even though two weeks have passed, the other man has really left an impression on him and he wonders if he'll ever get to see him again.

After washing and drying his hands, he walks towards the kitchen and spots his mom on her tiptoes with her hands gripping the fridge door's edge. She grumbles to herself and he walks over to her while asking her what's wrong. And it's with a frown that she tells him that there are no more toasted or raw sesame seeds in the freezer or pantry, resulting in his eyebrows lifting in surprise. Then, she asks him to go to the local Korean store to pick up some raw seeds for her--adding a please at the end as a force of habit.

"But _why_?" he whines. "Can't we last a day without them, mom? It's just us two eating tonight anyways..."

Since his older sister and dad are currently out of town for different reasons (and his three poodles are with his older sister for the rest of the weekend), he doesn't see the point of going to the store for sesame seeds. (Though really he's just tired and doesn't want to walk to the store at this time--no matter if it's not even night yet.) His mom looks at him as if he's said something scandalous though and points towards the front door, telling him to go buy the seeds. 

With a pout, he mutters an _Okay..._ and then goes to his room to put on a jacket and change into some jeans before grabbing his essential items and placing them in his pants' and jackets' pockets. When he walks out of his room and goes towards the front door, he stops to put on some black slip-on shoes with an even bigger pout on his face.

"Be safe, Nini--love you!" his mom calls out.

"Okay," he replies back, still pouting. "Love you, too."

Once he's outside, he immediately checks his phone for the time and sees that it's only a quarter past six. So, he figures that if he walks to the store now, he should be back with the seeds at about a quarter to seven. While letting out a small sigh, he plugs in his earphones into his phone and plays one of his playlists. A funky pop song immediately plays as he starts walking towards the store, and a grin blooms on his face as he begins to softly sing the lyrics.

Several minutes later, he finally makes it to the store and walks inside--taking out an earbud to place it around his neck (while the ad-libs for the song plays in the other one). He then heads over towards the section of the store where the seeds are at, and grabs a bag before turning to go in the direction of the candy aisle--wanting to pick up a little snack for the road.

As he gets to the aisle, he searches the shelves for his favorite candy before grinning when he spots it. Then, he's just about to pick up a bag of them when he notices some movement out of the corner of his eye and curiously glances over to the right.

And it's with widening eyes that he sees Kyungsoo's side-profile as the other man holds onto a basket of food with both hands, his biceps flexed and his eyes wide as he looks back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up next week hehe~


	5. Lucky Number Three

Kyungsoo's had a long day. First, he decided to lend his mom his car for the week because her car's in the shop getting fixed, and so he's been taking the bus to get to places today. Then, his groupmate Soo-Jung didn't show up for class today, skipping for reasons unknown. His drama teacher fortunately gave his group an extension and so now his group and him are going to perform their play in two days. Even though he'd had wished that there would be some way to push the date of their play performance to a later date, now that it's the reality, he finds himself just wanting to get the play over with already.

On top of all that, as what he thinks is shitty luck--he saw Jongin again for the second time ever, asleep on a bus of all places (a vehicle he hasn't ridden on since high school).

But, maybe the universe doesn't completely hate him, he thinks, as he walks into the candy aisle of the local Korean store he likes going to. Because as soon as he walks into the aisle, he spots Jongin all the way at the other end, looking at a shelf. 

Immediately, Kyungsoo wants to laugh cynically at this situation. Because he feels like there has to be more to this, like he'll get struck by lightning or something before he can even approach Jongin. But he doesn't want to wait two weeks until he somehow sees the cutie again, so he walks a bit down the aisle and pretends to look at the candies in front of him, when really he's looking at Jongin through the corner of his left eye. And though his glasses don't extend to the corner of his eyes, and everything is blurry because of that fact, he feels giddy to see that Jongin's looking back at him now. 

Kyungsoo tries to look nonchalant and pretends to not to know that Jongin's there as he turns his head towards him. He then feigns shock as best as he can, and his mouth drops open a bit, not from acting but because _damn_ \--Jongin looks even hotter than the last time he saw him. 

"Hey, um, have we met before?" Jongin asks, blinking.

Kyungsoo scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion. _He's definitely the same guy...right? Unless he has a twin or...amnesia--holy shit say something--_

"Uh, yeah--at the mall, right?" Kyungsoo responds. "Wait, can you come closer so we're not talking to each other from far away?"

Jongin seems to consider this for a second and then walks closer to Kyungsoo until they're standing about an arm's length away from each other. "So, uh, your name's Kyungsoo, right?" Jongin asks, softly.

Kyungsoo can't help but smile, internally rejoicing at Jongin remembering his name and sounding so sexy as he says it. "Yeah," he replies, smiling up at him. "And you're Jongin, right?"

"Yup," Jongin says, grinning back at him before he points in awe to the basket that Kyungsoo's holding. "Wow."

Kyungsoo looks down at his own basket and then looks back up at Jongin, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

"That looks like it'd weigh a ton."

Kyungsoo gives a short chuckle and lifts the basket up and down with ease. Though it's filled with large vegetables, sauces, oils and noodles, it really doesn't weigh that much to him. But, he sees how it looks like it could. "You wanna try holding it?" he then asks, holding it out to Jongin. Before he mentally face-palms because really, who asks that?

Jongin blinks and mumbles an _Okay_ though before placing his own basket on the floor and reaching to grab Kyungsoo's basket. Kyungsoo moves his fingers from the basket's handles to the bottom of the basket, further showing his arm strength and leaving Jongin openly gaping at him. He then finds himself giggling as Jongin takes the basket by the handles with his eyes widening dramatically.

"Yup, I was right," Jongin declares, his arm muscles flexed hard as he seems to struggle to even hold the basket handle with both hands. "This weighs too damn much."

Kyungsoo watches with amusement, admiring the sight of Jongin in front of him, looking both cute and sexy at the same time. And in an instant he starts imagining what it'd possibly be like to hang out with Jongin. Maybe they'd play billiards and he'd help Jongin learn how to strike the cue ball at the perfect angle, or maybe they'd go bowling, his hand over the other's hand and...

"Uh, Kyungsoo?"

Kyungsoo blinks in shock, realizing he'd started to daydream while staring at a confused Jongin.

"Welcome back to earth," Jongin teases before looking at someone behind Kyungsoo. "Um, you might wanna move a bit."

Kyungsoo turns around and immediately locks eyes with a middle-aged woman standing behind him who glares at him and mutters an _Excuse me_. With a sheepish look, he quickly steps aside and goes closer to Jongin, who he notices is still struggling to hold his basket. 

"Uh, I can take it back now--the basket, I mean," he then says.

"Oh, yeah, hah I dunno know why I'm still holding this," Jongin responds with an embarrassed chuckle.

Once Jongin hands the basket to him and he grabs the handles to hold it again, Jongin bends down to get his own basket and asks him if he wants to go a bit further down the aisle. Kyungsoo nods, and so they walk to the left towards the end of the aisle where Jongin was originally at.

"So," Jongin starts. He gulps. "Uh, I know this is random, but...uh are you dating anyone right now?"

Kyungsoo feels his heart beating faster. "No...I'm single."

"Oh."

"What about you?" Kyungsoo asks. He's fully prepared for the possibility of Jongin saying yes, having went over the scenario in his head too many times now.

"Nope--I'm single too."

Now it's Kyungsoo's turn to simply state, "Oh."

And though Kyungsoo's happy that Jongin's single too...he still has a worry lodged in his mind. "Okay, now... _I_ have a question for _you_..." he begins. "What do you...what do you think of...gay people?"

If his hands weren't occupied right now--he'd face-palm. That's not _quite_ the question he wanted to ask but maybe he could just segue to what he really wanted to ask after Jongin answers.

"Hmm--they're cool," Jongin says, smiling. "Though not _every_ gay person is cool...'Cause gay people are people. And some people suck _regardless_ of their sexuality."

He then laughs, seeming to have thought of something funny.

Kyungsoo finds himself smiling and asks, "What? What's so funny?"

"It's just--haha--what I said..." Jongin laughs. "Some people _suck_ \--hahaha."

Kyungsoo has to suck in his lips to restrain the grin that wants to take over his face. He gets Jongin's joke, as corny as it is, but what's really making him feel more infatuated with Jongin is the surprising high-pitch to his laugh. The lady down the aisle scrutinizes them with a scowl on her face but neither pay her any mind. Jongin's eyes are twinkling and his lips look so...nice and Kyungsoo feels like his insides have turned to warm noodles as he can't hold back his grin any longer.

"Hey..." Jongin says, once his laughter has quieted down. "Did you know you have a heart-shaped smile?"

"No--not at all," Kyungsoo sarcastically replies, still grinning.

Jongin giggles and then says something that Kyungsoo will repeat over in his head for the rest of the night.

"It's cute."

Kyungsoo internally freaks out at that. _It's cute?...It's cute? Oh my fuck..._

Now, normally Kyungsoo would _not_ be happy hearing someone call any part of him cute. He's been called 'cute' pretty much since his birth and has heard that he looks like insert-cute-animal too many times. So when someone calls him cute, he's always thrown for a loop on how to respond. 'Cause he's not just cute--he's handsome--dammit. But this is a cute-as-fuck younger-looking guy in front of him, and wait...Kyungsoo just remembered something else that's been bothering him.

"Um, how old are you by the way?" Kyungsoo suddenly asks, eyes wide like an owl's.

Jongin is taken aback at Kyungsoo's expression and Kyungsoo curses himself in his mind, worried that he's scared him. He's surprised though when Jongin just squints at him with the corners of his lips tilted up and replies, "I'm twenty."

"Oh. _Phew_ ," Kyungsoo breathes before blushing at saying that last part aloud. Jongin stares at him and he looks anywhere but him. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure that you're not like sixteen or something and just happened to look older than your age."

"Ah..." Jongin says, grinning. "And how old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"Wow, you're a year older than me?"

Kyungsoo waits for an 'I thought you were younger,' but is further surprised when Jongin doesn't add anything else. "You're not...surprised or anything?"

"Huh? No...why would I be?"

"It's just...people say I look younger."

"Really? Like how young?"

"Middle-schooler young," Kyungsoo says, scowling.

Jongin snorts and says, "No way. You're too hot to look like you're a middle schooler..."

Kyungsoo's eyes widen for the umpteenth time during this conversation and he squeaks out, "...You think I'm hot?"

Jongin nods shyly and runs a hand through his own hair, his other hand holding onto his practically empty basket. "I do, yeah."

Kyungsoo suddenly envisions throwing his and Jongin's baskets to the floor and jumping into Jongin's arms, before he remembers yet _another_ thing that he's been wondering about. "Wait, so you...?" Kyungsoo says. "You--you're into guys?"

"Um...both?" Jongin replies, sheepishly.

"Both?" Kyungsoo echoes. "Like...genders?"

"Well...I-I'm actually Pan...so I just...I kinda like _anyone_. I mean, not _anyone_ but like ya know just people?" He rubs behind his left ear. "...And you?"

"I'm gay as hell."

Jongin lets out a surprised chuckle at that and then Kyungsoo musters up all the confidence he can and asks, "So...do you...have a phone number?" 

Jongin's eyes widen and Kyungsoo has to restrain from biting on a fingernail before feeling his stomach relax some when Jongin nods with his cheeks raised. They then take out their phones and Jongin's eyebrows raise after looking at the time since his mom'll probably be wondering what's taking him so long to buy some raw sesame seeds.

"What's wrong?" Kyungsoo asks, looking concerned.

"Nothing--it's just _wow_. We must've been standing here talking for like ten minutes."

Kyungsoo lets out a hum and pushes his lips out a bit at that before asking Jongin if he's ready for him to recite his phone number. Jongin looks up and nods, and then practically melts right there on the floor as Kyungsoo _sings_ the numbers to him. He types in Kyungsoo's phone number (while squealing on the inside because _holy shit, his voice_ ) and then calls Kyungsoo's phone while looking at him. Kyungsoo picks up the call and goofily says _Hello_ before hanging up and saving Jongin's number into his own phone, and Jongin just stares at him in a daze.

"Now we can talk to each other for longer than just ten minutes," Kyungsoo says with a smile as they both pocket their phones.

Jongin sucks in his own lips for a moment and swings his basket in his hand before shyly asking, "'Kay if I text you tonight? Or uh is that too soon?"

Kyungsoo chuckles and tells him that as long as it's not past eleven ('cause he'll probably be knocked out by then)--it's fine. Then, he grabs onto his own basket and informs Jongin that he's gonna pay for his food now or he'll never get around to it. Jongin's eyes widen slightly and he says that he'll do the same and so after grabbing his favorite candy bar, they walk side by side towards the registers diagonal from their position in the store.

They then end up sharing more about themselves while waiting at a long-ass checkout line. Things such as how Kyungsoo's in his third year of college with no job at the moment while Jongin doesn't go to college but has a job as a dance instructor's assistant. The line moves up slowly and so do they, still talking and smiling at each other.

When they've both finally paid for their things, they walk out of the store side-by-side, holding onto their bagged purchases and conversing with each other all the way until they make it to Kyungsoo's stop for the bus. Then, with reluctance, they exchange byes and more smiles before Jongin crosses the street to walk back to his home with a bag of food in his hand and what feels like nutcrackers spinning around in his stomach.

Kyungsoo watches as Jongin walks away and kicks the side of his own right ankle (since his hands are too occupied to pinch anything). The sting he feels tells him all he needs to know and he lets out an almost inaudible shout of glee.


End file.
